What is the Latin word for Faith?

The usual Latin words for “Faith” are fidēs, opīniō, persuāsiō; also fīdūcia, doctrīna, fōrmula. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“Faith” in Latin

fidēsfaith; belief (belief without empirical evidence, direct experience, or observation); reliance (act of relying on or tru opīniōopinion, conjecture, imagination, fancy, belief, expectation; reputation, esteem; report, rumor persuāsiōpersuasion (act of); belief, opinion fīdūciatrust, confidence, assurance, reliance; boldness, courage; deposit, pledge, mortgage doctrīnateaching, instruction; learning, erudition; doctrine, theory fōrmulashape, outline; form; beauty; pattern, mould; paradigm lēxthe legal machinery of a state, the law; a law, statute, bill; the laws regarded as a body, the constitution religiōscrupulousness, conscientious exactness; piety, religious scruple, religious awe, superstition, strict religious observa sacersacred, holy, dedicated (to a divinity), consecrated, hallowed (translating Greek ἱερός); devoted (to a divinity for sac colōto cultivate the land, till, tend, take care of a field or garden; to inhabit; to frequent, be the guardian of, cherish,

The English word Faith itself goes back to Latin fidēs.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

Faith

Fides, -ei (f.)

faith

Belief, conviction, opinio (a person’s notion; his conviction, right or wrong; in anything, de re): persuasio (firm conviction of anything; firm faith in anything, alicujus rei): fides (credit, credibility; and hence confidence): faith in the existence of a God, opinio Dei: faith in immortality, by immortalitas (as Cic., Tusc., 1, 32, 77: nemo me de immortalitate depellet): to have faith in anything, aliquid esse credere (to hold a thing as true or real, opposed to negare esse aliquid); *alicui rei vim salutarem tribuere (to ascribe efficacy to a thing; e.g., to a remedy); alicui or alicui rei fidem habere, tribuere; alicui fidem adjungere (☞ = not dare or adhibere); alicui or alicui rei credere (to believe it); alicui rei servire (to regulate one’s conduct by it; e.g., incertis rumoribus, Vid: Caes., B.G., 4, 5, extr.): to put no faith in anybody, fidem alicui abrogare or denegare.

Fidelity, faithfulness [Vid: FIDELITY]: in good faith, bona fide (e.g., bona or optima fide polliceri aliquid; also, fide sua spondere, Plin., Ep.): to hold faith with anybody, fidem servare, conservare, praestare: to break one’s faith with anybody, fidem fallere, mutare, frustrari; fidem non servare; fidem frangere or violare.

Confident reliance, fiducia (Vid: proper word): fides (faith in anybody’s honor): spes firma: spes certa (assured hope). To put one’s faith in anybody or anything, fidere or conhdere alicui or alicui rei; fretum esse aliquo or aliqua re (to build upon him or it); fiduciam habere alicujus rei (to place one’s confidence in it): To put too much faith in, nimis confidere. Faith in anybody, fiducia alicujus; spes et fiducia alicujus (Caes.): faith in me, you, etc., fiducia mei, tui (in Plaut., mea, tua fiducia): full of faith, fiduciae plenus: to place one’s whole faith in anybody, se totum alicui committere: to have no faith in anybody, alicui diffidere.

In an ecclesiastical sense, fides (faith in a subjective sense; ☞ Verg., Aen., 4, 12): doctrina: formula: lex (in an objective sense, the doctrine, knowledge, or law of faith; lex Christiana in Ammianus, 25, 10): religio (general term for religion, also the Christian; Vid: Lactantius, 5, 2, 8; so, also, religio Christiana in Eutropius, 10, 16 [8], extr.; Arnob., 3, p. 126, Elm.): sacra, orum, neuter: or cultus (external Christian etc., worship; cultus Christianus, Ammianus, 21, 2, 4) ☞ Of course, whenever the Christian or any other faith is meant, an addition, as Christi or Christianus (a, um, or Christianorum; so, also, Muhammedi, etc.) must be used, unless the context allows the omission. To profess the Christian faith, legis Christianae esse studiosum (Ammianus, loc. cit.); Christum sequi: to adopt the Christian faith, sacra Christiana suscipere (of a whole people, after Liv., 1, 31): to change one’s faith, adopt another faith, *sacra patria deserere (to forsake the faith of one’s fathers, of a Jew, etc.); *mutare sacrorum formulam: to contend for one’s faith, pro religionibus suis bellum (bella) suscipere (to undertake a war or wars for it; Cic., Font., 9, 20); pro religionibus suis pugnare (to contend for it, to defend it with the sword, loc. cit.). An article of faith, *caput doctrina; sacra; (☞ caput or articulus fidei is barbarous): a profession of faith *professio, quid sentias de rebus divinis (which is made): formula Christiana, lex Christiana (the Christian doctrine and law; the latter, Ammianus, 25, 10).

faith adv.

(as exclamation)(as exclamation). nae (in Cic. at beginning of sentence before a personal pronoun, nae tu, ille, etc.): profecto: sane: certe (particles of asseveration): Hercle (by Hercules): per Jovem (by Jupiter): ita me dii ament (as I wish to be saved).

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for Faith?: The usual Latin words for “Faith” are fidēs, opīniō, persuāsiō; also fīdūcia, doctrīna, fōrmula. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.